☕ Good Morning! Sippers,

Here are this week’s notes!

Traction Thinking: 50 PERCENT RULE

🏢 Starting a company requires more than just building a product. While having a great product or service is important, it’s not enough to ensure success. Many startups fail because they don’t have enough customers, which highlights the critical role of traction in the early stages of a business.

According to Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape and VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, one of the main reasons that entrepreneurs are not backed is that they are too focused on their product and neglect their distribution strategy. In other words, having a great product is not enough if you can’t get it in the hands of your customers.

🪤 To avoid this trap, it’s important to spend your time developing your product or service while also testing various traction channels in parallel. This is where the 50 percent rule comes in – allocate 50 percent of your time to product development and 50 percent to traction.

The 50 percent rule helps you avoid common startup traps. Building something people want is necessary, but it’s not sufficient for a viable business. There are four situations where you could build something people want, but still not end up with a viable business:

First, you might build something people want, but there’s no viable business model. For example, people won’t pay for your product, and advertising won’t cover your expenses.

Second, you might build something people want, but the market is too small. You need enough customers to reach profitability, and there aren’t enough potential customers to make your business viable.

Third, you might build something people want, but reaching them is cost-prohibitive. For example, if you have a relatively inexpensive product that requires a direct sales force to sell, this might not be a sustainable model.

Finally, you might build something people want, but the market is too competitive. If there are too many other companies offering similar products, it can be hard to get customers.

🔑 The key to avoiding these traps is to focus on traction from the beginning. If you follow the 50 percent rule, you’ll be able to test various traction channels early on and quickly determine if you’re on the right track. The results of your traction experiments will guide you toward the channel that will drive the most meaningful growth.

Finally, having a great product or service is necessary, but it’s not sufficient for startup success. Traction is critical for getting your product into the hands of your customers and building a viable business. To set yourself up for success, allocate your time wisely and focus on both product development and traction from the beginning.

Via, Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth.

You Are Not an Accident

God doesn’t play dice. — Albert Einstein

👩🏻‍🍼 From the moment of your birth, you were destined for a specific purpose. Your life is not a mistake or a fluke of nature; you were created intentionally by God. Even if your parents did not plan for you, God did, and he was not surprised by your arrival. He expected it and had already thought of you long before you were conceived.

The Bible tells us that God prescribed every single detail of your body, from the color of your skin to the natural talents you possess. He custom-made your body just the way he wanted it. God also determined when you would be born and how long you would live. He planned the days of your life in advance, choosing the exact time of your birth and death. Nothing in your life is arbitrary. It’s all for a purpose.

💟 God also planned where you would be born and where you would live. Your race and nationality are no accident. God left no detail to chance; he planned it all for his purpose. And most amazing of all, God decided how you would be born. Regardless of the circumstances of your birth or who your parents are, God had a plan in creating you. He knew that those two individuals possessed exactly the right genetic makeup to create the custom “you” he had in mind. They had the DNA God wanted to make you.

God’s motive for creating you was his love. He was thinking of you even before he made the world. In fact, that’s why he created it. He designed this planet’s environment just so we could live in it. You are the focus of his love and the most valuable of all his creations.

So remember, you are here for a purpose. God created you intentionally, and he loves and values you more than anything else in the world. You may not know your purpose yet but trust that God has a plan for your life, and he will reveal it to you in due time. Just have faith and trust in him, and he will guide you on your journey.

Via, PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE.